Who Plays MODOK in 'Ant Man 3'? MCU Character Explained and Fan Theories

Kang the Conqueror may be taking center stage in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but he's not the only iconic Marvel villain to appear in the film.

The newest trailer for the superhero flick was released on Monday, January 9, and it gave fans their first look at MODOK, an acronym for "Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing."

MODOK was featured in two scenes in the trailer, one of which was a blink-and-you'll miss it moment in which the character was seen unmasked, which led to some fans theorizing over his true identity. Here is everything you need to know about the character.

Who Plays MODOK in 'Ant Man 3'? MCU Character Explained and Fan Theories

Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), has his work cut out in his third standalone film, it seems, as he's drawn into the quantum realm with his daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), partner Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), and her parents Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer).

There, Scott comes across Kang (Jonathan Majors) who, from the trailer, appears to offer him a deal that he'll struggle to come back from. How MODOK will feature in this story is currently unknown, but the character was shown alongside Kang, Scott and Hope in one scene.

MODOK first appeared in the Marvel Comics in 1967, and the original character to take on the title was George Tarleton, who becomes the large-headed villain after going through a mutagenic experiment to increase his intelligence.

Tarleton is an employee of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), and after the experiment he attempts to take over the organization and kill those who created him.

Marvel fans had a different idea when it came to MODOK's identity in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, though, because they believe the character will actually be revealed to be an old enemy of Scott's: Darren Cross.

Played by Corey Stoll in the first Ant-Man film, Darren took on the moniker Yellowjacket and tried to kill Scott, only to be, it was assumed, killed when he was lethally shrunk down.

Now fans believe that this storyline was actually the character's road to becoming MODOK in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and that he will be revealed in the new film, with some taking to Twitter to share their fan theories.

"Welcome back, YELLOWJAC- MODOK!!!!," one fan wrote on Twitter while sharing images of Darren in Ant-Man alongside a still of MODOK without his mask on from the trailer.

Another added: "Not to throw MCU a bone but do kind of like the creative decision that the bad guy from the first Ant Man got all scrunched up and fused to his suit that the micro people turned him into MODOK. I dunno why not!"

One person also said: "The new Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania trailer not only shows MODOK — it also shows him unmasked, and... hello there, Corey Stoll..."

Despite these fan theories Marvel hasn't officially revealed who is playing MODOK, and no doubt the character's true identity will be kept under wraps until the film has been released.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be released in theaters on Friday, February 17.